Mirror, Mirror on the Wall....
For centuries, mirrors have been the center focus of many myths and urban legends. From portals to another dimension to a prison for trapped souls, here are some of our favorite mirror myths:
One tradition that some of you may be familiar with is the covering of the mirror (and stopping of the clock) when someone dies. This tradition comes from the cultural belief that, when someone passes away, their soul is released from their body and begins to roam. The soul will roam for 3 days following death and, according to legend, if the soul encounters a mirror anytime within this period, their soul will become trapped within the mirror. It is believed that tarnished mirrors have souls trapped within him, and, in some cases, individuals have even seen images of the deceased in old mirrors.
For reasons of your own discretion, you may sleep with a mirror facing your bed. Well, if you do, you'll probably going to be reorganizing your room after reading this. This legend, with origin in the Chinese tradition of Feng Shui, states that as you sleep in front of the mirror, spirits lurk on the other side waiting to suck your soul out as you sleep. So, to avoid any spectral soul snatchers, move that mirror (or, as an alternative if the mirror is fixed, cover it at night) to protect yourself.
We have Apotropaic Magic to thank for this one. Apotropaic magic is the term coined for magic that is meant to ward off evil spirits. It is the believe of many customs that mirrors can act as a repellant for evil spirits. According to legend, when evil spirits can a glimpse of their own reflection, they flee in terror. Historically, brass mirrors were thought to be the most effective, however, other variations of the legend suggests that it can be any reflective surface.
This mirror urban legend is probably the most universally known. According to the legend, if you break a mirror you will have 7 years of bad luck. Sucks, right? But you're in luck (hehe, see what we did there?) because we have some potential tips to help reverse the 7 year curse.
If you should be so unfortunate to break a mirror, DO NOT clean up the pieces right away! You are going to want to wait exactly 7 hours before cleaning up the broken pieces of the mirror. During this seven-hour interval, you will have probably the worst luck of your life, but hey, 7 hours of bad luck sure as hell beats 7 years of bad luck if you ask us!
Some variations suggests that, instead of throwing out the pieces after you clean up the mirror, you bury the pieces outside under the moonlight
For an immediate curse reversal, some variations state that if you should touch a piece of the mirror to a tombstone, the curse will be immediately lifted.
Mirrors can be tricky, tricky, tricky... what are some urban legends and myths do you have about mirrors? We'd love to hear them!